Baked Turkey

Baked Turkey

Ingredients:

21 pound fresh, whole turkey
2 onions
10 bay leaves
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground celery seed
3 strips lemon zest
32 ounces chicken broth

Directions:

Remove the turkey’s legs from the plastic clip. Don’t ruin the plastic clip and you don’t have to completely separate it from the bird. Just take the legs out of it. Now inside the cavity of the turkey, you will find a bag of innards such as the liver and heart.

Take the bag out of the turkey cavity. You will also find the turkey neck. Be sure to pull it out too. Do not discard all this stuff!

Now turn the cold water on high and rinse the turkey. Fill the cavity full of water and rinse the innards too. Let the water drain from the turkey while you prepare the pan.

In a large roasting pan, line the bottom with a large sliced onion.

Now comes the really fun part…It’s the artistic part of cooking a turkey. Use the prettiest bay leaves you have in the container. Add bay leaves under the skin

Carefully separate the turkey skin from the breast meat using your fingertips to avoid ripping the skin. Softly and gently separate. That’s the key to prevent the ripping of the skin.

Very carefully arrange the bay leaves between the skin and breast meat. You can make a design or just lay them under the skin. Now put a bay leaf inside the cavity on one end and a couple bay leaves in the other end.

Cut an onion in quarters and put it inside the turkey cavity.

In a separate bowl combine pepper, salt, dried parsley, basil, thyme, garlic, cumin, and ground celery seed. Pat most of the mixture all over the outside of the turkey.

I took the onion out of the cavity and sprinkled the rest of the spice mixture inside the turkey.

Now add the chicken broth to the pan around the turkey. Peel off three medium size pieces of lemon zest. Put one in the broth at one end of the turkey and put the other two in the cavity at the other end or in the broth.

Seal the roasting pan base tightly with aluminum foil. Put the lid on tightly. Bake in a preheated 450 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and cook until done – approximately 4 hours for a 21 pound turkey. Do not peek or open the aluminum foil. Just trust me and bake it 12 minutes per pound. .

Porcupine Meat Balls

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked regular rice
2/3 cup milk
1 medium onion chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can condensed tomato soup
3/4 cup water

Combine beef, rice, milk, onion, salt and pepper.  Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of mixture into shallow
baking pan (13 x 9 x 2 inch.) Combine soup and water.  Pour over meat.  Cover pan tightly with foil.  Bake 1 hour at 350°. Serves 6 to 8.

Baked Chicken

1 chicken cut-up
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
Lightly toasted bread crumbs or corn flakes
Poultry seasoning
Salt

Beat eggs and milk together.   Dip pieces of chicken in egg and milk mixture.  Roll in crumbs.  Place in well greased pan, using butter or margerine.  Sprinkle salt to your likening.  Sprinkle with poultry seasoning or mix in the crumbs to taste.  Bake at 325° until meat loosens from bones.

Dressing for Tossed Salad or Sandwiches

1 c canola oil or veg. oil
1 c sugar
1/2 c water
1/2 c vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

Ingredients may be varied to taste.  Wisk till combined and bottle.  Shake well before using on sandwiches or tossed salad. 

Cranberry Sauce

1 pound cranberries 16 oz. Bag
8 apples
4 oranges peeled
Juice of one lemon
Rind of half orange
4 c sugar.

Directions

Grind all ingredients then add sugar. Mix well.

Green Tomato Pie

PIE FILLING

4 medium sliced (like apples) green tomatoes (use half green half red ones if available)
1 c seedless raisins
1 c sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar

pre-heat oven to 425*

Place one pie crust into bottom of a 9" pan, bake in oven for 15 min.
Reduce oven to *350

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl then pour into the 9" pie pan, (already baked for 15 min at 425*) place the last pie crust (uncooked) on top of the pie filling, place in oven for 45 mins. at 350

let cool and serve warm with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Meat Sauce

Ingredients
3 pounds ground beef (I used ground round)
2 pounds sausage
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large yellow onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white wine or stock (your choice)
Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
One 24-ounce jar good store-bought marinara sauce (you can use another jar if you like the sauce to be more saucy than meaty)
One 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional 4 bay leaves
1/4 cup finely minced fresh parsley or 3 tablespoons parsley flakes, plus more for serving
1 whole rind from 1 wedge Parmesan, optional 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, optional, plus more for serving

2 pounds spaghetti, cooked al dente and tossed with olive oil, for serving

Garlic-cheese bread, for serving

Directions

In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and sausage until totally browned. Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and put it into a bowl. Set aside.

Discard any grease in the pot, but do not clean the pot. Drizzle in the olive oil. When it is heated, throw in the onions and bell peppers. Stir it around for 1 1/2 minutes, and then add the garlic. Stir and cook for an additional minute.

Pour in the wine and allow it to bubble up and reduce for about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, marinara sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine, and then add the sugar, salt, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper if using and bay leaves. Stir, and then add the cooked ground beef and sausage and stir to combine. Place the lid on the pot and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add a little water or some low-sodium broth if it needs more liquid.

After an hour, add the minced parsley and the Parmesan rind if using (or grated Parmesan if you prefer--or both!). Stir to combine, and then put the lid back on and allow it to simmer for another 30 minutes or so. Discard the bay leaves before serving.

Serve a big bowl of oiled noodles and the meat sauce so guests can serve themselves. Top each serving with minced parsley and grated Parmesan (or Parmesan shavings) and serve with a big piece of garlic-cheese bread.